Angel of Revelation 10:5

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Revelation 10:5-7
"The angel's position with one foot on the sea, the other on the land

signifies the wide extent of the proclamation of the message. It will cross the broad waters and be proclaimed in other countries, even to all the world. The comprehension of truth, the glad reception of the message is represented in the eating of the little book. The truth in regard to the time of the advent of our Lord was a precious message to our souls."
 Ms 59, 1900 , p. 9 E.G.W.
 

What did the "Constitutions" say?

Below one will see that nearly 3 centuries after the crucifixion, Christians were giving reverential treatment to 2 days- Sabbath (Saturday) & The "Lord's day" (by which they likely meant Sunday).....so Sunday sacredness had been creeping in yet they still

held to the Sabbath as well....

"[c. 250-300 AD Apostolic Constitutions:] We enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week, and every day of the preparation, and the surplusage of your fast bestow upon the needy; every Sabbath-day excepting one, and every Lord's day, hold your solemn assemblies, and rejoice: .....—bk. 5, sec. 3, xx." ADL

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:

Exodus 20:10

The "Really" File - (Transgender Dolls Now?)

 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man,

neither shall a man put on a woman's garment:

for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Deuteronomy 22:5

THEY have been TARGETING YOUR CHILDREN, from forcing the Boy Scouts to accept gay & transgender youth, to Obama's executive order to attempt to force transgender bathrooms in the schools & now "dolls" to target your kids....anybody getting what's going on in the country?

"A doll made in the likeness of a reality television star who was

born a boy but identifies as a girl was unveiled this weekend in New York.
The Tonner Doll Company, led by Robert Tonner, introduced the Jazz Jennings doll at the International Toy Fair in Manhattan on Saturday.

“Jazz stands for everything I respect from a human nature point of view: She’s incredibly brave, intelligent, warm-hearted and creative,” he said in a statement.

From the "Really" File

Jennings is known for being the center of the TLC reality show “I Am Jazz,” which follows the now 16-year old’s life living as the opposite sex." ChristianNews

 

REALLY?

 

Creation Moment 2/24/2017 - Creative Wonder

Through faith we understand that the worlds

were framed by the word of God,

Hebrews 11:3

More Creative Wonder of Planetary Uniqueness of the DESIGNER....

"NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around

the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water. At about 40 light-years (235 trillion miles) from Earth, the system of planets is relatively close to us, in the constellation Aquarius.This exoplanet system is called TRAPPIST-1.

In contrast to our sun, the TRAPPIST-1 star – classified as an ultra-cool dwarf – is so cool that liquid water could survive on planets orbiting very close to it, closer than is possible on planets in our solar system. All seven of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary orbits are closer to their host star than Mercury is to our sun. The planets also are very close to each other. If a person was standing on one of the planet’s surface, they could gaze up and potentially see geological features or clouds of neighboring worlds, which would sometimes appear larger than the moon in Earth's sky." NASA


 

STEPS TO CHRIST: Audio & Pull Quotes- Chapter 9

The Work and the Life

Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/UH_8VL5iYp4?list=PL4ByrircmXL7byOGrccow6FzaDRVol_C

Our Savior's joy was in the uplifting and redemption of fallen men.

That which selfish hearts would regard as humiliating service, ministering to those who are wretched and in every way inferior in character and rank, is the work of sinless angels. The spirit of Christ's self-sacrificing love is the spirit that pervades heaven and is the very essence of its bliss. You are not to wait for great occasions or to expect extraordinary abilities before you go to work for God.

Those who endeavor to maintain Christian life by passively accepting the blessings that come through the means of grace, and doing nothing for Christ, are simply trying to live by eating without working. When the love of Christ is enshrined in the heart, like sweet fragrance it cannot be hidden.

The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28

Christ took His own Advice

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee,
1) go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone:....But if he will not hear thee,
2) then take with thee one or two more,....
3) And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church:
but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Matthew 18:15-17

 

Christ took His own Advice:

1) He came Himself

I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not:

John 5:43

2) He gave us 2 Witnesses-Old & New Testaments

And I will give power unto my two witnesses,

Revelation 11:3

3) He gave a Church

....the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17

 

ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. . . For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Matthew 24: 15, 16, 21

"One of the most interesting prophecies in the Bible concerns the abomination of desolation.

Some teach that this prophecy was fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes interrupted the temple sacrifices between 168 and 165 B.C. The abomination they point to is the pig Antiochus had offered on the altar in the temple complex.
Others believe the abomination of desolation refers to a future time when an atheistic anti-christ will overthrow the temple in Jerusalem and use it as his throne.
Then there are those who believe the abomination of desolation is the Roman standards which were worshiped in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. at the time of its destruction by Titus.
Just what exactly is the abomination of desolation?

Jesus tells us that our study of the abomination of desolation should focus on the book of Daniel. When one makes a careful study of this book, he discovers that the abomination of desolation can be divided into three parts. These parts are:
*the abomination of desolation in Daniel's day (involving the first temple);
*the abomination of desolation in Jesus' day (involving the second temple); and finally
*the abomination of desolation in the time of the end (involving the whole Christian church).

The key that unlocks the mystery of this prophetic event is found in the first two verses of Daniel. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and beseiged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. Daniel 1:1,2. In these two short sentences Daniel provides a concise historical background to the remainder of the

book which follows.

Notice where these abominations were committed: the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:14. These abominations were standing in God's consecrated holy place, the "house of the Lord." The religious leaders of the day had purposefully led the people to adopt heathen worship practices and incorporated them into their worship of God. In substituting for God's commandments the vain notions of men, the leaders of God's heritage provoked his wrath.

Jeremiah told the people that if they would honor God's seventh-day Sabbath their city would remain forever, and that this faithful obedience would lead them into such a relationship with Himself that they would be used to convert the surrounding heathen nations (ch. 17:19-26).
On the other hand, if they would not keep the Sabbath day holy God would allow their city to be desolated. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then I will kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. (v. 27).  Thus, we see the significance of 2 Chronicles 36:21: To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath.  In Ezekiel 8, the prophet was brought by vision to the door of the inner gate. God proceeded to show his servant the progressively greater outrages His people were committing. In verses 5 and 6 He speaks of an image that provoked Him to jealousy. In an escalation of outrage, unclean beasts had been brought into the house of God, women were weeping for Tammuz and the greatest abomination of all was twenty-five men standing in God's holy place with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Ezekiel 8:16.  Daniel himself agrees that it was the sins committed by God's people that caused their desolation. .... open thy eyes, and behold our desolations...Daniel 9:18.  

The next one we shall consider is the one that concerns the second Jewish temple period. After their release from Babylonian captivity and rebuilding the city and temple, the Jewish leaders erected a mountain of rules and regulations designed to protect them from repeating the sins that had led to their bondage. The fourth commandment's seventh-day Sabbath became a special object of amendment. The Jews reasoned that since it was transgression of the Sabbath that led to their captivity, they needed to define in minute detail how the Sabbath should be kept. Over 500 rules concerning Sabbathkeeping eventually resulted. Some of these Sabbath laws were as ridiculous as this: one could not leave an egg in the sun on the Sabbath because the sun might cook it, and cooking on the Sabbath was a violation of the fourth commandment. Of course, this only resulted in a system of pure legalism.  Ultimately the people were led full circle to disobedience again. Jesus comments that in spite of their apparent religiosity they were still breaking God's law even as their forefathers had during Isaiah's and Daniel's day. Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men... full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition... making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered. Mark 7:6-13.  Even though their apostasy expressed itself in legalism instead of laxness, it was still based on the same principle upon which all pagan religions are based - that man can save himself by his own works. Jesus, like Jeremiah of old, rebuked this religious system and called it an abomination. Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:15.  As Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, His prophetic eye saw the consequences of their constant

rebellion. With a grief-stricken heart, He prophesied the coming doom of the city. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate. Matthew 23:37,38. This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies of Titus burned the temple to the ground. This second desolation of the temple perfectly paralleled its first destruction.

Who would be the new nation to receive the kingdom of God and bring forth the fruits thereof? The Bible provides a clear and concise answer in the apostle Peter's letter to the Gentile converts who "In time past were not a people, but are now the people of God." Of the converts to Christianity, ..In the new dispensation God bestows upon the converted Christians all the privileges and promises that had been made to the literal seed of Abraham. It is an indisputable fact of history that the Papacy brought into the Christian church the very same

practices of paganism for which ancient Jerusalem was destroyed. One has to do only a little study to see how image worship, Tammuz worship, and sun worship were introduced to Christianity during the Dark Ages. Many of these abominations are still with us in the form of statues, candles for the saints, rosary beads, Easter sunrise services and Sunday worship.  By no means does the papal apostasy exonerate Protestantism. Both Catholicism and Protestantism have fostered abominations in God's holy place, His church. The Christian church is mirroring literal Israel. We are repeating many of the same sins and will consequently reap the same punishment of desolation, unless we are willing to read the handwriting on the wall and flee from Babylon. When the churches have apostasized in their abominations to such a degree that they enact legislation of a religious law which displaces God's holy Sabbath with a pagan holiday, we may leave our cities, knowing that a time of trouble will be forthcoming.   We are now living in the time of the Christian church's final apostasy, which makes of none effect the commandments of God. We need to see that we are in the midst of fulfilling prophecy and keep our eyes open for the culmination of all things." BibleUniverse

Selah

Many there be which say of my soul,

There is no help for him in God.

Selah.

Psalm 3:2

"The word “Selah” occurs 74 times in the Bible. The first of these occurrences is here in Psalm 3:2, and it also occurs at the end of verses 4 and 8, thus in effect dividing Psalm 3 into three “stanzas.”

However, its exact meaning is uncertain. Most authorities think it is some kind of musical notation, to

be applied when the psalm was being sung with accompanying musical instrumentation. It suggests a pause of some kind, perhaps to allow the instruments to play a few notes while the singers were silent before proceeding with the next portion, possibly changing to a different key.

When the psalm is merely being read, however, as must often be the case, this explanation would be pointless. Thus, some think it indicates a brief pause for reflection on the truth just revealed before proceeding to the next point. “Selah” might, therefore, mean something like “Think of that!”

In Psalm 3, as the first instance, verse 2 notes that many (perhaps originally those involved in Absalom’s rebellion against King David) are saying: “Not even God can help him now!” But then the psalmist remembers God’s promises and he prays, and God answers, so now he can say: “Well, what do you think about that?” Both exclamations are implied by his “Selah.”

Then in the third stanza, he stresses his security in his Lord. He can sleep and “not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about . . . Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people” (Psalm 3:6, 8). “So, what can you say about that, you enemies of God and His Word?” (“Selah”)." HMM

IN the NEWS - McCorvey's Redemption

Therefore if any man be in Christ,

he is a new creature:

old things are passed away;

2 Corinthians 5:17

"The woman behind the controversial Roe v. Wade abortion case passed away this weekend at the age

of 69.
While Roe v. Wade is a well-known court case, the woman behind the case is much less well-known. Her name was Norma McCorvey, and when she was 22 years old she wasn’t able to find a doctor in her home state of Texas who would perform an abortion. Her lawyers referred to McCorvey as “Jane Doe” for purposes of the case. They sued Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade on her behalf--and won.
This all took place years after McCorvey had given birth to her child and given it up for adoption.
The Roe v. Wade decision became one of the most notable--and controversial--cases in American history. Since it was handed down, more than 58 million abortions have been performed in the U.S., according to Relevant Magazine.
However, there is redemption in McCorvey’s story.
Years after giving birth to her child and years after the Roe v. Wade decision, McCorvey became a Christian and a pro-life advocate. The woman at the center of the most notable abortion decision went to work for a pro-life group called Operation Rescue.
In an interview with NPR, McCorvey once said, “I'll be serving the Lord and helping women save their babies. I will hold a pro-life position for the rest of my life." BCN

Creation Moment 2/23/2017 - Blue Bloods Foil Evolutionary Ages

And God created great ...every living creature that moveth,

which the waters brought forth abundantly,

after their kind,....

Genesis 1:21

"The horseshoe crab has long been regarded as a ‘textbook’ example of a ‘living fossil’. Its fossil representatives are found even in layers labelled as Ordovician, supposedly 450 million years old.

And they look much the same as modern-day horseshoe crabs; certainly there is no evidence of any substantive evolution in all that massive alleged time.
The blue blood of the animal is also useful for mankind. It has been used for decades to help test for microbial toxins and impurities. Called the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate test (LAL), results are available within the hour and can determine quickly whether someone has a bacterial or a fungal infection.
According to a report that described the horseshoe crab as “an ancient animal, more [sic] than half a billion years old” researchers are now close to perfecting a synthetic substitute for LAL by “cloning their ancient chemical wisdom”.
The irony is the glib way in which these long timespans are inserted into such discussions, while missing the obvious; that the ‘unevolved’ crab itself is evidence against the very notion of its ‘ancient’ status." CMI

IN the NEWS - Green Bridge as Unifier?

We have repeatedly been saying that the Mark of the Beast will likely be tainted GREEN... an olive branch if you will to get the non-Christian world to go along as a day to let the earth rest..one side to appease Father God & the other to appease mother earth...here we have supposed "Christians" plotting with the GREEN RELIGION to replace the Gospel...sort of a GREEN BRIDGE between both sides as a unifier....

"After sessions on gravitational waves, nuclear forensics and artificial intelligence, one of the world’s largest general science conferences invited attendees to hear from an Episcopal priest.
The Rev. Fletcher Harper preached on climate change, and how to get a vast segment of the world’s population to pay better attention to what scientists know but many

doubt: that the problem is worsening and portends disaster.
“My entreaty for scientists it to be able to speak publicly about why you care,” said Harper, executive director of GreenFaith, an interfaith nonprofit that aims to galvanize religious people to safeguard the environment.
“It’s vital not to soft-pedal the dangers that we face . . . a great deal is at stake.”
At a time of the week when many Americans are in church, Harper and the academics on a panel about “leveraging religious support for climate policy” Sunday (Feb. 19), explained why and how scientists should pursue religious people as allies.
Since three-quarters of Americans and an even larger percentage of the global population belong to a religious group, and since religion is how so many understand their world, it’s incumbent upon scientists to describe the sobering and difficult problem of climate change in religious terms, she said.
She called it “connecting our heads to our hearts.”
Invoke the environment as a gift — the religious response to a gift is gratitude, but also responsibility, said Harper.
Then, he said, talk about the world as “out of balance.”
“That kind of metaphor is most familiar to people who are practitioners of the Dharmic traditions (such as Hinduism and Buddhism), but it also resonates very consistently through Muslim teachings and writings and it resonates certainly for Christians and Jews.” RNS

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that

 called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Galatians 1:6

STEPS TO CHRIST: Audio & Pull Quotes- Chapter 8

Growing Up Into Christ

Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/5HH6mPHKV9A?list=PL4ByrircmXL7byOGrccow6FzaDRVol_C

Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work.Christ in His matchless love --this is the subject for the soul's contemplation.

When the mind dwells upon self, it is turned away from Christ, ...Hence it is Satan's constant effort to keep the attention diverted from the Saviour and thus prevent the union and communion of the soul with Christ. The pleasures of the world, life's cares and perplexities and sorrows, the faults of others, or your own faults and imperfections--to any or all of these he will seek to divert the mind.

And Jesus bids us consider the lilies how they grow. Luke 12:27.
As the flower turns to the sun, that the bright beams may aid in perfecting its beauty and symmetry, so should we turn to the Sun of Righteousness, that heaven's light may shine upon us, that our character may be developed into the likeness of Christ.

Paul's Threefold Blessing

To Titus, mine own son after the common faith:

Grace,

mercy,

and peace,

from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

Titus 1:4

"Paul greets Titus with “grace, mercy, and peace.”
This threefold blessing:

Grace is a manifestation of God’s love toward undeserving rebels, resulting in forgiveness and blessing.

Mercy is the attitude of God toward those who are in distress.

Peace comes as a result of the restoration of harmony between God and the forgiven one.

....from both “God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” What a comfort to recognize both Father and Son as involved in the bestowment of all aspects of our salvation." JDM

Christ the "Butler"?

Search the scriptures; ......they are they which testify of me.

John 5:39

Christ on all the pages of Scripture 

And it came to pass after these things,

that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.

And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.....And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream,...And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph,...

And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it:
The three branches are three days:

Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, {Christ was raised up after 3 days}
and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand,
after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness,
I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, {The thief on the cross said "Remember Me" to Christ}
and bring me out of this house:

And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed:.
..Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, {Christ intercedes for His people}
saying,..And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams;...Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon:

Genesis 40:1,3,5,9,12-14/41:1,9,12,14

IN the NEWS - Abort to "save the planet"?

"FOX News host Tucker Carlson interviewed the Sierra Club’s Executive Director, Michael Brune, on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Feb 2, 2017.  Carlson, a former Sierra Club member himself, dove right into asking Brune the tough questions.
Puzzled by some of the Sierra Club’s recent position statements on such varied topics as President Trump’s border wall, the women’s march, abortion, and transgender bathrooms, Carlson asked Mr.

Brune why the Sierra Club was veering away from protecting the environment to taking positions on the unrelated issues.  
Carlson quoted a statement the Sierra Club issued on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and asked Brune, “How does abortion help save the planet?”
Brune responded, “Abortion helps to address the number of people that we have on this planet.  We feel that one of the ways in which we can get to a sustainable population is to empower women to make choices about their own families.”
Brune repeatedly mentioned that it’s “important for the Sierra Club to stand up for the rights of people.”  Apparently as far as the Sierra Club is concerned however, the most innocent and defenseless among us— the unborn—don’t count as “people” and have NO “rights” at all.  In their eyes, the unborn are nothing more than a burden on the environment and, as such, are disposable for the ‘greater good.’
As outraged Democrats preach “tolerance” and “Love trumps hate,” they continue to riot in cities and college campuses across America—many erroneously comparing President Trump to Hitler.  Ironically, it was the evil dictator Hitler who proposed eugenics as a component of inflicting his fascist ideology on the world, just as the Sierra Club is now doing."
Mary Kay Barton/Fulcrum7
...and did not one fashion us in the womb?
Job 31:15

IN the NEWS - GREEN Utter Nonsense

Woe unto the foolish prophets,...Ezekiel 13:3

"Climate change may have surprising and wide-ranging effects on mental health, experts say.
That's because climate change is both a root cause of mental health crises and a "threat multiplier," meaning that it makes existing

mental health problems worse, said Dr. Lise Van Susteren, a psychiatrist in private practice and an advisory board member for the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard...

 researchers have documented a link between extreme climate and weather events and higher levels of aggression, Van Susteren said. A 2013 study published in the journal Science found that increases in temperature and extreme rainfall are associated with increased levels of conflict between individuals, and between groups, she said." LiveScience

LOL....Yeah, when WEATHER is bad, some people don't take kindly to it...but that's not due to man made so-called "climate change".....These people have NO SHAME or Limits in their attempt to sell (scare) the GREEN RELIGION to the public....

Creation Moment 2/22/2017 - "Unknowns" of Cosmology

And he said to the human race, The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
Job 28:28 NIV
These Unknowns of Cosmology are usually presented as fact within the mass media without challenge and used to "prove" cosmology...

"Lieu lists five evidences where cos­mologists use ‘unknowns’ to explain ‘unknowns’, and hence he

says they are not really doing astrophysics. Yet these evidences are claimed to be all explained (and in the case of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation even predicted) by the ΛCDM inflation model of the big bang. None of them are based on laboratory experiments, and they are unlikely to ever be explained this way. The ‘unknowns’ in the lab (meaning not known to physics today) are listed in italics. They are:

1. The redshift of light from galaxies, explained by expansion of space,
2. The Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, explained as the afterglow of the Big Bang,
3. The perceived motion of stars and gases in the disks of spiral galaxies, explained by dark matter,
4. Distant supernovae  being dimmer than they should be, hence an accelerating universe, explained by dark energy,
5. Flatness (space has Euclidean geometry) and isotropy (uniformity in all directions), explained by faster-than-light inflation." CMI

 

STEPS TO CHRIST: Audio & Pull Quotes- Chapter 7

The Test of Discipleship

Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/OY7hAkMx-fg?list=PL4ByrircmXL7byOGrccow6FzaDRVol_C

There is no evidence of genuine repentance unless it works reformation.

The love of influence and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life. Self-

respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions. By what means, then, shall we determine whose side we are on?
Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse?
The things they once hated they now love, and the things they once loved they hate.
The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire His divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty and excellence of Christ.

There are two errors against which the children of God----especially need to guard.
The first, is that of looking to their own works, trusting to anything they can do, to bring themselves into harmony with God.
The opposite and no less dangerous error is that belief in Christ releases men from keeping the law of God; that since by faith alone we become partakers of the grace of Christ, our works have nothing to do with our redemption.
The law of God is an expression of His very nature; If our hearts are renewed in the likeness of God, will not the law of God be carried out in the life? We do not earn salvation by our obedience; for salvation is the free gift of God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of faith. The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,--just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,--perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness.

There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged.
Even if we are overcome by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No; Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or trace all the chain of circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted.
Christ said to Nicodemus, The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. John 3:8. Like the wind, which is invisible, yet the effects of which are plainly seen and felt, is the Spirit of God in its work upon the human heart.

2 Verses = the Scene God Longs For

The "Esau's" of the world run to God

And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him,

and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

Genesis 33:4

God runs to His wayward children who come home

But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him,

and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Luke 15:20

On the Streets of Babylon: Naked Fleeing Pastors

 Babylon is fallen, is fallen,...  Come out of her, my people,

Revelation 14:8/18:4

 

There seems to be some "Naked Fleeing Pastors" loose on the Streets of Babylon...close your eyes when crossing their streets out there...

"The leader of a popular congregation in Florida is refusing to resign after being caught in bed with a member’s wife—fleeing naked—as he states that he has “already received” God’s forgiveness.
“What I want from God I’ve already received it and that’s His forgiveness,” O. Jermaine Simmons,

pastor of Jacob Chapel Baptist Church in Tallahassee, told his congregation on Jan. 22, just days after the incident.
“What I am asking of our members is something I may or may not get, and that is your prayers. And I’m asking for your forgiveness,” he continued, receiving an “amen” from those gathered, as well as a standing ovation.

Simmons, who is married, said that he was sorry that his members had to try to defend him, .... But he contended that he cannot step down from preaching because it will appear like his worthiness to serve as a pastor is based on his performance.

According to reports, the incident occurred on Jan. 17 with member Claynisha Stephens, 34, who attends Jacob Chapel with her husband Benjamin Stephens III. Stephens told police that she had been in a relationship with Simmons since October.
That day, Simmons went to Stephens’ house to “talk over starting a business, patents and trademarks, and providing less fortunate kids with clothes and shoes.” But during the get-together, the two went to Stephens’ daughter’s room to have sex.

Stephens’ husband came home unexpectedly and found his pastor in bed with his wife. He grabbed a gun and yelled “I’m going to kill him,” according to reports.
Simmons fled the couple’s home naked, and Stephens called the police. Her husband took Simmons’ clothes and belongings and threatened to go to the church about the matter, as well as to expose the pastor on Facebook.
However, in negotiations with police, he agreed to arrange for the return of Simmons’ possessions

and surrendered his gun to the NAACP.

While the congregation is largely supportive of Simmons’ refusal to resign, others find the situation deeply concerning.
“He made his sexual sin of adultery into a sermon. Yes, yes they say. … Get out of the pulpit, seek counseling, and be under church discipline. This is Scriptural reconciliation,” one commenter remarked. “If he remains in his position without any consequences, he will continue to [commit sin with] other men’s wives and it will spread throughout the church. He is only sorry he got caught. The show must go on.”
“He said if he stops preaching over this it presupposes that last Sunday he was okay to preach when there was no sin. What is he talking about? The man’s wife said they had been getting together … for months,” another noted. “It is the right thing to do to openly apologize if you truly meant it, but as far as preaching he needs to be sat down for a while. … He is fortunate that he didn’t lose his life that day.”
Simmons was just about to hold a signing of his new book “I Need a Man,” which “offers a fresh perspective on the issues of godly manhood and mentoring.” ChristianHeadlines

From Post-Flood Babel to the Irish Annals

So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth:

Genesis 11:8

"One of the questions often raised concerning the early post-Flood history of Europe, is that of the Ice Age, the impression being no doubt that the Ice Age poses some kind of a problem for the Biblical model. Few creationists would question the historical reality of the so-called Ice Age, although we would certainly question the vast span of time allotted to it under the evolutionary scheme of things. In other words, it is something that would have lasted only a few centuries, perhaps even a thousand years or more, ....But of added interest to us in this present study is the fact that the receding of the ice sheets over northern Europe seems to have been witnessed by some of its earliest colonists who have left intriguing records behind them.

Nennius, for example, in the 13th chapter of his Historia Brittonum, has preserved a fascinating account of an unexpected encounter with an iceberg by some early colonists of Ireland. Having

arrived from the warm Mediterranean basin via the Spanish peninsula at an unspecified date, and being entirely unfamiliar with ice at sea, at the end of their first year in Ireland they looked out at sea and saw what they described as a 'tower of glass.'(...conspiciunt turrim uitream in medio mare). Moreover, upon the tower they could see what they took to be men, but could get no reply from them when they shouted (...et homines cons piciebant et quaerebant loqui ad illos nun quam respondebant). They therefore launched an attack upon the tower. Some of their boats were wrecked on the ice, while some men who had managed to land upon it were washed off by the heavy seas and drowned .(...et demersi sunt).

... in the Irish Annals of Ctonmacnoise, translated into English in the year 1627 by Conell Mageoghagan, where firstly we are told that during Partholan's coming to Ireland (15th century BC) he counted 'but three laughs [lochs or lakes] and nyne Rivers in the Kingdom'.  But then, during the later second colonisation of Ireland, we are told that 'Many Laughs and Rivers broke out in their time'.

Lakes and rivers don't just suddenly 'break out' in a short period of time without a source of water that is truly vast. So it would seem, therefore, that we are given in the early Irish records an intriguing glimpse into the melting of the north European ice-sheets which occurred some short time after the 15th century BC."
AfterTheFlood Appendix14

Why the Flood?

"Genesis chapter 6 gives four reasons why God sent the Flood:

1. 'The wickedness of man was great in the earth' (v. 5).
2. 'Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually' (v. 5).
3. 'The earth was filled with violence' (v. 11).
4. 'The earth...was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth' (v. 12). (All the people on earth had corrupted their way.)

The historical biblical record states, And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt.

Genesis 6:12. This is in sharp contrast to God's declaration when he had finished creating the heaven and the earth, namely, And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31. It is astounding to consider that in the tenth generation from Adam the human race had become so wicked, evil, violent and corrupt that it was not fit to go on living. And of all mankind only four men and four women were spared, because they did not go with the great sin drift.

God's mercy regarding the Flood is just as evident as His judgment, and is seen in the fact that God provided a way of escape for those who were prepared to believe what He had said, heed the warning He gave, and avail themselves of the means of salvation which He provided by instructing Noah to build the Ark." CMI

IN the NEWS - Religious Liberty Erodes

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:

Romans 8:7

"On Thursday, nine judges who serve on the Washington State Supreme Court ruled against florist Barronelle Stutzman of Richland, Washington—a 72 year-old grandmother who now faces fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars for desiring to run her local flower shop according to orthodox Christian beliefs.
Prior to the court battle, Stutzman had known the plaintiff Rob Ingersoll and served his needs for more than nine years—using her artistic talents to make birthdays, funerals and other occasions 

The 9 members of the Court who
OPPOSE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

meaningful.
Soon after Washington state legalized gay marriage in 2012, this small flower shop became ground zero in a battle over the definition of marriage, religious liberty and the force of law that has consumed the nation.
In the case, State of Washington v. Arlene's Flowers, Stutzman contended that creating custom floral arrangements is an issue of artistic free speech and association with her clients.
The gay couple wanted to compel Stutzman to use her “imagination and artistic skill to intimately participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony,” to quote her legal brief authored by attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom. What Ingersoll and his partner wanted was, for Stutzman, tantamount to endorsing gay marriage.
The ruling by the Washington Supreme Court orders Stutzman to pay the legal fees of the ACLU and other lawyers representing Ingersoll, which could ultimately tally in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, in addition to $1,001 fine per a lower court ruling.
“What many find objectionable are participating in services that have an overtly sacramental meaning,” explains Walker.
In addition to appealing the ruling to the Supreme Court, Alliance Defending Freedom has called on President Donald Trump to issue an executive order to protect the religious freedom rights of Stutzman and others.
“President Trump, who has promised to make religious liberty the ‘first priority’ of his administration, has an opportunity to take a stand against the ongoing efforts to marginalize people of faith,” states the public interest legal group."
ChristianHeadlines

Creation Moment 2/21/2017 - Planetary "Pinball"?

Now the evolutionary cosmological view is REDUCED to claiming the planets played pinball in order to get them where they currently are (because some of the models don't explain the current line-up, so they need to find an excuse for the DESIGN of the solar system as it currently is arrayed).

"URANUS may have been batted back and forth between Jupiter and Saturn before being flung out to its present location, new simulations suggest.
Previous modelling has shown that Jupiter and Saturn moved out of their initial orbits in the early

solar system, scattering nearby objects.
In some simulations, this led to Uranus crossing the path of Saturn, which could then have flung it towards Jupiter, which lobbed it back to Saturn. The process might have happened three times before Uranus was finally ejected beyond Saturn, to where it now resides. Hurling Uranus would have caused Jupiter and Saturn to recoil, further shifting their orbits.
New simulations led by Alessandro Morbidelli of the Côte d’Azur Observatory in France suggest this pinball game, which would have lasted just 100,000 years,... In an alternate scenario, Jupiter and Saturn moved to their orbits over 5 million years by simply flinging away space rocks, but this would have visibly scarred the asteroid belt."
NewScientist
--OR--Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,
Hebrews 11:3

On the Streets of Babylon: Mary Returning?

Babylon is fallen, is fallen,...  Come out of her, my people,

Revelation 14:8/18:4

 

There seem to be some on the Streets of Babylon gearing up for the Return of "Mary"...

"Recently, a large number of miraculous sightings have been reported. The sightings range from unusual and unnatural cloud formations, to weeping statues of the Virgin Mary and more. Is this a sign that something great is about to happen? Are we prepared for the moment, if it should come soon?
What is the message of all these sightings? Some believe it is a call to renewed faith and the conversion of hearts a century after Fatima." CatholicOnline

Watch the Clips Below to see Catholicism explain Fatima...Now picture this happening in the near future...on a BIGGER SCALE with our modern mass media broadcasting it live worldwide....the very elect could be deceived.....
The Apparitions of the Virgin Mary and Her Messages to the World
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZxyHh4MfA8M
Fatima Apparitions and the 'Miracle of the Sun,' 1915 - 1917  
https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGuVBLNkjiE